Beishan (Northern Mountain), called Longgang Mountain in ancient times, is about 560 meters above sea level. The carvings here were first built in the first year (892) during the Jingfu reign of the Tang Dynasty (618-907). From the Five Dynasties Period (907-960) to the Shaoxing reign of the Southern Song Dynasty (1127-1279), it had stood through more than 250 years. The initiators of Beishan Cliffside Statues was Wei Junjing, the prefectural governor of Changzhou and the governor of four prefectures: Chang, Pu, Yu and He, in the late Tang Dynasty. There are about five or six thousand statues on the Northern Mountain, and about two or three thousand still remain extant, which are distributed in the Buddha Bay, the White Pagoda Temple, the Yingpan Slope, the Kwan-yin Slope, and the Buddha Ear Slope, etc, and the most statues muster in the Buddha Bay.

The Buddha Bay looks like a crescent, and its rock is 4 meters to 7 meters high, and about 500 meters long. The niches are connected with the grottoes with 290 numbered grottoes. Among them, there are six steles, including the Wei Junjing Stele that records the history of Beishan Statues, the Stele of Ancient Script of Filial Piety in 22 chapters carved during the Song Dynasty (960-1279), etc. There are also 55 pieces of annotations and records of statues, and 8 scripture pillars, one intaglio painting Manjusri Bodhisattva Diagnoses Diseases, and 254 stone carvings in total.

The Buddha Bay are divided into two parts: the works in the southern part mostly were completed in the late Tang Dynasty and the Five Dynasties Period (907-960), while those in the northern part were done in the Song Dynasty. The works done in the late Tang Dynasty appear elegant and well-rounded, with bold and vigorous disposition, and simple and smooth lines, while the works of Five Dynasties Period are ingenious exquisite, with varied postures, while the works of the Song Dynasty demonstrate a developed national form, with distinct characters and gaudy dress. The statues in No.136 Grotto are elegant and graceful with well-balanced proposition, and each figure there has different characters. For instance, Manjusri Bodhisattva seems vigorous and a little conceited, while Samantabhadra Bodhisattva with the typical charm of oriental women, sits on the back of an elephant, appearing tender, kind, elegant and quiet. The No.125 Grotto enjoys a high prestige of the best of Beishan Carvings, and the statue of Kwan-yin that Counts Beads in it leaves deep impression on visitors with its lively expression that breaks the dividing lines between human and God.

The Wei Junjing Stele in the Buddha Bay records the social situation of the late Tang Dynasty and the reason why he built the village and the statues. These are important data for the textual research into Beishan Carvings. The Stele of Ancient Script of Filial Piety in the Buddha Bay has altogether 6 segments. The Classic of Filial Piety has two versions: in ancient script and in modern script. Because the modern script is easy to find today while the ancient one is rare, the materials on the Stele of Ancient Script of Filial Piety in the Buddha Bay are of great value.

The Duobao Pagoda, also called the Northern Pagoda, lies in front of the White Pagoda Temple on the Northern Mountain, which was first built during the Shaoxing reign (1131-1162) of the Southern Song Dynasty (1127-1279), and was repaired in both the Ming (1368-1644) and the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911). The pagoda was made up of bricks, with an eight-square, thirteen-layer hollow structure. It is over 30 meters high, and has seven floors inside. The passage was placed in the centre of the pagoda. When you ascend to the top of the pagoda, you will have a panoramic view of the whole Dazu County. The internal and external walls of the pagoda, there are more than one hundred inlaid carvings of the Song Dynasty (960-1279). The Northern Pagoda has a close connection with the stone carvings on the Northern Mountain.

(Source: chinaculture.org)